Minato paused for a moment, his face softening into a warm smile as he reached out and bumped fists with Nawaki.
"Senior Nawaki, I'll be counting on you from now on," Minato said with a grin.
"With someone like you as Jiraiya's student, should we say it's your luck or his?" Nawaki replied, lifting his gaze to examine the young ninja before him. At this age, possessing such strength undoubtedly marked him as a true genius. After all, even Moto, the prodigy from the Uchiha clan, had fallen to Minato's hands.
As for Jiraiya back then…
"Cough, cough."
Jiraiya let out a light cough just then, catching the hidden meaning behind Nawaki's words—something only the two of them would understand.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished and reappeared beside Nawaki before either could react. He crouched slightly, wrapped an arm around Nawaki's neck, and gently pulled him away from Minato.
"Kid, at least give me some face in front of my student!" Jiraiya said with a somewhat displeased look, his tone carrying a subtle hint of "threat."
Others might not know about Jiraiya's embarrassing past, but Nawaki's sister certainly did. Therefore, Nawaki himself was also well aware of Jiraiya's history.
What's more, thanks to their ties with the First Hokage, Nawaki and his sister had always enjoyed a warm relationship with The Third, who was especially kind to them.
Nawaki, however, remained completely unfazed by Jiraiya's threat. In fact, he looked even more eager for trouble. "Hehe, I know how much you've always liked my older sister. So if you want her approval, dealing with me is unavoidable."
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's expression instantly changed—nearly turning obsequious.
"What exactly do you want?" Of course, he could tell clearly that Nawaki had intentionally baited him.
"It's simple," Nawaki replied. "Teach me a B-ranked ninjutsu."
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. A B-ranked technique was already beyond what most Genin could handle—not just because of its complexity, but also due to the massive chakra reserves required.
However, being of the Senju bloodline, Nawaki naturally possessed more chakra than ordinary ninja.
"Why don't you go ask Orochimaru or Tsunade? Haven't they been guiding your training all along?" Jiraiya questioned.
Nawaki frowned slightly and replied, "I did approach Big Brother Orochimaru, but he refused me. Later I found out it was actually on orders from my sister. She said I was too impatient and not yet ready for such advanced techniques."
"Tsunade's right," Jiraiya said with a nod. "You haven't even graduated yet. Why rush into something this advanced? Give it time—do a few missions first. Once Tsunade sees you've got what it takes, she'll teach it to you."
"There's no time to waste," Nawaki countered with clear disdain. To follow such step-by-step teachings from Tsunade or Jiraiya felt far too slow for his dream of becoming Hokage.
Even after graduation, he'd start off doing the lowest-ranked missions anyway.
He couldn't stand seeing him grow like that.
"But if I teach you without permission, Tsunade will kill me..." Jiraiya grimaced. If Tsunade ever found out he had gone against her wishes and taught Nawaki ninjutsu behind her back, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"And if you don't teach me, don't expect me to acknowledge you. You'll never win my sister's heart either!"
Nawaki countered threateningly. Looking away, he realized Jiraiya had already grabbed Minato and leapt over the backyard wall.
"Next time!" With those words, Jiraiya vanished.
Nawaki wore an angry expression, though he knew there was no way he could match Jiraiya's speed...
...
"Sensei, do you think it's okay for us to leave like this without saying goodbye?"
Having "fled" yet again, Minato let out a slightly helpless sigh as he spoke. He hadn't even been Jiraiya's student for a full day, yet this was already their second escape.
Though admittedly, this time wasn't nearly as ridiculous as the last escape.
"If we didn't leave now, things would get worse," Jiraiya replied. He certainly didn't want any more entanglements with Nawaki.
Not teaching him was bad enough; teaching him would be even worse…
Minato hadn't heard what transpired between Jiraiya and Nawaki, nor did he know exactly what the usually amiable senior ninja said that made his sensei run off looking so flustered.
It must've related to his elder sister… After all, by himself, he probably wouldn't have intimidated the master at all.
"Alright kid, stop guessing."
Seeing Minato immersed in thought once again, Jiraiya quickly interrupted him. Who knows what this sharp kid might figure out? He couldn't risk having his reputation as a teacher ruined.
Still, after thinking about Nawaki's request and glancing at Minato beside him, an idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Minato, do you want to learn some ninjutsu?" Jiraiya immediately asked.
Upon hearing that, Minato hesitated briefly before nodding.
"I figured so… Because I mentioned earlier that I'd let you develop your strengths first, you've been holding back from asking me directly, haven't you?"
After all, the word 'ninja' itself comes from 'ninjutsu'. Learning powerful techniques was every ninja's dream—Minato was no different.
"There's a reason why I haven't taught you ninjutsu yet. One issue is chakra reserves, and another involves timing—if one doesn't grasp when to use certain techniques appropriately, then passing on knowledge becomes risky business, just like what happened with Yan Uchiha previously."
Jiraiya explained. By standards for his age, Minato's chakra amount was far from insufficient, yet its combat effectiveness through jutsu remained limited.
Misuse could lead to accidents similar to Yan Uchiha's mishap—nearly harming his own classmates.
Minato nodded—it was all because of his own inexperience. His mentor was just worried about how he'd develop.
"However, unlike Yan Uchiha, you always know where to draw the line—even towards those you despise. Moreover, being my student, limiting yourself merely to The Three Basic Ninjutsu alone would only reflect poorly on me as your teacher."
Jiraiya said, and Minato's eyes lit up with interest.
"Jiraiya-sensei, are you really going to teach me Ninjutsu?" Minato asked excitedly.
"Yes, and the Ninjutsu I'm teaching you won't accidentally hurt anyone else, even if you can't control it properly," Jiraiya replied with a proud smile.
Minato couldn't help but wonder if this technique could really distinguish between friend and foe.
Seeing the eager look on his face, Jiraiya smiled gently and continued.
[Summoning Technique]
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